


Life Won't Give You a Happy Ending (So Make One Yourself) OLD

by Idontknowcanon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: (because he has to clean up the messes the pranks make), Angst with a Happy Ending, At least he's trying, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Brainwashed Loki (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Thor: The Dark World, Clint Doesn't Have Kids, Deaf Clint Barton, Frigga was an ok mom, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Lots of sarcasm, Non Canon Magic, Odin's A+ Parenting, Post-Avengers (2012), Temporary Character Death, Thor (Marvel) is an okay bro, and tony's having none of it, clint likes to prank, everyone lives in the tower, it's kinda slow in the beginning but it gets better, loki and his sarcasm, longer chapters later on too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2020-12-27 00:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21109835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idontknowcanon/pseuds/Idontknowcanon
Summary: Loki thought his life couldn't get worse since his time in the void. And oh boy was he wrong.When the Kurse kills Thor, it doesn't change a lot, but it changes a lot.~~~OLD VERSION





	1. Chapter 1

Thor is dead.

No- he couldn’t  _ die _ !

He’s- he’s THOR!

The Mighty Thor!

He doesn’t just  _ die _ !

Thor- Thor.

_ No _ .

Thor isn’t dead he could be.

- _ nonononononononono _

Thor- he- he- he’s- THOR!

- _ nonononononononono _

Thor- he’s- he’s

- _ nonononononononoNO! _

Thor- he- just- can’t

Thor-

Thor is-

Thor is-

Thor is dead.

  
  


Loki looked down at Thor, once vibrant blue eyes, dull and gray red blood pooling in his mouth.

_ Thor is dead. _

He kept repeating it like somehow he’d believe his own words-

_ ‘Silvertounge turned to lead?’ _

He could hear Thor- ( _ no- not Thor’s. Thor is dead- Thor is dead- Thor is dead- thorisdeadthorisdeadthoris _ -)  _ the _ mortal’s sobs, how had Thor fell in love-

_ ‘I love Thor more dearly than any of you’ _ -

With a mortal in 2 days.

Loki glared at the mortal, wishing she would stop. How could she care that  _ Thor is dead _ .

They hadn’t even known each other for that long.   
But Loki had known Thor for his whole life, and the fact the Thor is gone hit harder than anything Thanos could imagine.

Maybe this is all in his head.

Maybe he is still with Thanos, with Maw poking and prodding in his head.

He laughed, an emotionless laugh. Soon the laughter turned into sobs. What were the sobs for? Who were they for? Himself?

The thought of that sent a bubble of laughter up his throat but died as soon as it reached his lips.

He looked back a Thor, wondering if this was him what would he do? Thor would take him. No he wouldn’t it would just get in the way, and maybe even injure him more, he couldn’t do that to Thor.

He pushed himself up, dusting off the dirt. He turned to the mortal,  _ Jane _ he remembered. He conjured a handkerchief and handed it to her, after she finished wiping her eyes she turned back to him, “why are you doing this? I mean Thor is gone it makes no sense that you should still be here.” 

Loki also thought about why he didn’t just leave, it would be so simple. But what was he to do if he didn’t go? Malekith would win, the Universe would be destroyed, running wouldn’t matter. 

Taking a breath to stated, “if I were to run, Malekith would win, and Thor’s death would be for naught.” She shook her head, “no, you have other motives.”

He sighed, how would he convince the- Jane to come with him? “You may think I have other motives, but that would be incorrect.” She glared at him, “you are the God of Lies, why should I trust you?”

_ God of Lies _ . Even the Midgardians thought him to be the God of Lies, but that wasn’t true. Half-truths, yes. But he only used them to handle political problems. “Fine you don’t have to trust me. But Thor seemed to love you, and so by leaving you I’d be disrespecting the sacrifice Thor made.” She flinched at the ‘love you’ part, thinking about how’d they’d known each other for only a short time. “I- Thor and I weren’t in love. I mean, we’d only known each other for a little while.”

He looked at her like she just said the Earth was flat, “obviously he loved you enough to  _ die _ for you.” He said the word ‘die’ with such disdain she flinched. “You have 2 options; come with me or-” he gestured to the landscape, “stay here and die.”

She looked around, mulling over the decision (she pretty sure she heard Loki mutter, ‘ _ not like we’re in a rush or anything _ .’) Finally, her eyes landed on Thor, and she knew what her choice was. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! So this is a very short chapter but I'm working on the next one.  
Thank you for the Kudos!  
And thank you Liraeyn for the comment; it gave me the extra push to finish this chapter.

“We’re bringing Thor with us.” Loki thought Jane had gone mad, and it obviously showed because Jane said, “I’m not leaving Thor.” Loki sighed, “we can’t bring him.” 

“Why? Why can’t we bring Thor!” She seethed. Loki was unfazed by her outburst, “we can’t bring him because he would get in the way during the battle.” She didn’t look convinced, “after… after the battle is over we’ll bring him back.” Loki nodded.

“How will we even get back?” Asked Jane. Loki laughed, “well I haven’t earned the title of God of Mischief for doing nothing.” Loki splayed his fingers out in front of him; a green glow emanating from them. The green fell out of his hands, creating a path. Loki focused on keeping the path stable; still, he turned around evidently waiting for Jane to follow. Jane took one last look at Thor and followed him.

* * *

Loki stopped abruptly, causing Jane to bump into him. Not turning around Loki said, “we’re here.” Jane looked around confused, “we’re not anywhere near the skiff.” Loki laughed, “we don’t need the skiff.”

Jane stared at Loki as he held out his hand; Loki only rolled his eyes, “we are going to be walking in-between worlds, I suggest you hold onto my arm if you don’t want to go hurtling through the void.” The way he spoke of falling through the void sounded like it was a mere walk in the park; (even though it wasn’t)

Not wanting to go falling through the void she grabbed his arm.

  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the Kudos!  
And thank you Liraeyn for commenting!  
I don't know why I decided to post 2 chapters today, I guess you just lucky!

Jane didn’t know what to expect when they teleported. Dizziness? Sure. Nausea? Yeah. Fear? Absolutely. But when they arrived she felt a small headache that was gone as soon as it came.

Though the small headache went away, when she looked at the place they teleported to she felt a very large headache coming her way.

Letting go of Loki’s arm she looked around at the faces of her friends. Erik’s face flushed with anger for only a second before it was filled with fear. Darcy looked shocked, while her intern (Ethan? Edan? Idan?) looked confused.

Loki dusted off his clothes, looking at each of the other people in the room (and purposely skipping Erik). After making sure his clothes were in perfect condition he strode to the table behind them. He cleared the papers off the table in a wave of his hand. He conjured a map and spread it out on the table, using books as paperweights.

After a moment of hesitation Jane followed Loki; only to have Erik stop her. “ _ What _ .  _ Are _ .  _ You _ .  ** _Doing_ ** ?” He whispered into her ear. Jane inclined her head to Loki, “seeing what he’s doing.” 

“Jane, he’s … he’s a psychopath and a murder.  _ What _ are you doing with him?” Jane took a steadying breath and explained what happened on Svartalfheim.

* * *

Black. That was the color of everything he saw. Or at least that it was the only color his brain could make sense of. Disoriented, he stood up. Tentatively he touched the spots were the Kursed hit him; only to see there were no marks. 

An inhuman laugh made him jump. “Oh my. How you should not have died.” He looked around, trying to see or in this case sense where the voice is. It laughed again, “I have no corporal form, I am only a  _ voice _ . Or as you Asgardians refer to me, The Norns.”

He froze, The _ Norns _ ? But why would they want him? He was only Thor, he could not travel through the void or see into the future.  _ And _ he was dead, so shouldn’t he be in Valhalla? 

“Oh no, you shouldn’t be in Valhalla.” It laughed again, “you are needed too much in the world of the living.”

Gathering his courage he spoke up, “why me? I mean- I don’t want to be dead, but it makes no sense.”

“Your brother needs you.”

“But why would he need me?”

It sighed, “he cannot- alone, face the Mad Titan.”

He gasped, “the Mad Titan lives? But I thought my grandfather’s father killed him?”

If it had a body it would be shaking its head, “no he lives. And your brother has had an- let's say  _ unfortunate _ encounter with him.”

Thor felt like his heart stopped ( _ but how could it if your dead _ , a voice in his head chided) “Loki  _ met _ the Mad Titan?”

“Yes. And the circumstance wasn’t in his favor either.”

“When did Loki met him?”

“After he fell through the Void he landed in the Mad Titan’s temporary base.”

Thor rubbed his eyes, “so before his attack on Midgard he was with the Mad Titan.”

“Yes.”

“So,” the pieces clicked in his head, “the Mad Titan… made him attack Midgard.”

“Yes.”

Thor ran a hand through his hair and puffed out a breath. “So he’s innocent.” 

“Yes.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Help him.”  
“I can’t- I’m dead!” Thor wanted to punch something- anything. He had just learned his brother was innocent and he could do nothing, absolutely nothing to help prove his innocence. And mostly Thor wanted to punch himself, it took him to _die_ to see that is brother was innocent.

“That’s where you're wrong.”

“Wait, what do you mean-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I decided to let Thor live because it will be important later on. I also decided that Thanos would be known throughout the 9 Realms (and the Universe at large) because it'll be important to the story later on.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and Kudos! It's all very appreciated.   
So i've decided to write an extra long chapter, and what I mean by that is about 1,044 words!

“So he saved your life, and  _ that’s _ why you’re hanging out with him.” Erik whisper-shouted. Jane shook her head, “No it was either I stay there and die or I come with him and maybe die.”

Erik was conflicted; he didn’t want Jane to be with  _ him _ , but he didn’t want Jane to be stuck on that wasteland.

Erik sighed, “Jane it's not that- I just- It’s HIM!”Jane cast a side-long glance at Loki, “I know, but he’s the only help we’ve got.”

Erik nodded, he may hate Loki but he’s semi-willing to work with him to save the universe.

Startling the two scientists Darcy said, “what’s in Greenwich?”Loki glanced at her before putting the marker down, “where Malkeith is heading.”

Jane raised her eyebrows, the look of utter shock on her face. “How do you know where Malekith is heading  _ and _ how do you know what Greenwich is?”

“Simple. Malekith will be heading where the convergence will be the strongest, also your ancestors left clues to where the convergence would be.” He shrugged, “To answer your second question I've studied this realm before.”Jane shook her head, of course the Asgardian psychopath studied Earth before. 

Loki looked at them all obviously impatient, “I just told you where Malekeith is going  _ and _ what he’s going to do, s _ o _ shouldn’t we be going?” Jane looked over at Erik, who only sighed and nodded“Yes, we’re coming.”

* * *

Thor didn’t know what up, down, left, or right was; he only knew he was falling. Soon after he started falling he felt a familiar presence in his hand,  _ Mjölnir _ . 

He thought about what the Norns had told him, that his brother- his Loki was innocent. The more Thor thought the more he realized how  _ awful _ a brother he was. He always agreed with Odin (He’d left the name Odinson after a while,  _ after _ he’d realized how awful a parent Odin was and is.) and always went with Sif and the Warriors 3, ignoring Loki and his ‘tricks'. 

He cursed himself for calling them 'tricks’ they were no tricks, though.  Se ðir was a very complicated art, that took years to practice, and he’d called them ‘tricks.’ Oh how a very awful brother he was. But he’d promised he’d be better. That he’ll defend Loki until his dying breath.

Thor would be a better brother.

* * *

The swirling mass of red and black was- for some people a sight for sore eyes. But for a god who tried to take over Earth, two scientists, an intern, and an intern’s intern, it was a beacon leading right to Dark Elf they had to kill.

Loki strode in front of them, tossing a ball of  seðir at a Dark Elf every time one got to close. Jane fiddled with her machines- ( _ That was meant to detect abnormalities not cause them _ , she’d said to Loki when he told them his plan.) Erik looked over her shoulder, trying to help but only making her more annoyed. Darcy was listening to her iPod, elbowing Ian when he tried to get her attention. 

Jane hit the control panel, desperately trying to get it to work. Finally, the signal loaded; looking up she went to go give Loki a thumbs up, only to see he was already half-way to Malekith.

Loki’s hand buzzed with power, itching to attack the man-  _ creature _ that killed his mother and his brother.“MALEKITH!” He bellowed, “YOU WILL  _ DIE _ FOR WHAT YOU DID!” He ran, unleashing the pent-up se ðir . Malekeith turned his head, barely dodging the ball of se ðir .

Eye’s blazing with fury; Malekeith swirled the Aether round and round, creating a ball.“YOU AND YOUR UNIVERSE WILL DIE TODAY !” Loki only snorted, easily dodging the incoming blow.

Across from where Loki and Malekith were fighting; Darcy and Ian were sticking the abnormality detectors into the ground. Running behind a building they waited for Jane to turn one on. Jane fiddled for a moment before hitting a switch causing a surge of energy that teleported random Dark Elves. Jane jumped in victory, she wanted to do a happy dance and sing a song, but the battle at hand kept her from doing any of those.

Loki knew that the anger would only fuel his seðir for so long, and it was coming to an end. He dodged and dived throwing seðir every chance he got. His seðir was running low,  _ very _ low. He had to defeat Malekith; he just  _ had _ to. But his optimism was running thin.

He heard a crack, like the sky had been torn in half- which it had. Obviously the others heard it as well, because for a moment the battle had ceased. That moment did not last long, bringing everyone back to their senses. But Loki continued to look at the tear in the sky, pleading that it wasn’t Thanos who’d come through there.

The crack became bigger, and lightning began to pour into the sky; causing the clouds to gray. A low rumble erupted out of the crack, causing- once more for the battle to stop. Everyone stared as the crack grew and grew, the sky becoming dark and lightning to flash. 

A figure emerged from the crack, creating deep thundering sound that broke the silence, “DON’T. TOUCH. MY. BROTHER!”The figure shot the lightning towards Malekith; practically sizzling him. The figure landed, causing the ground to shudder. When the figure’s eyes landed on Loki the lightning died down. Glancing at Malekith- (Who laid on the ground) to make sure he was no threat, the figure ran up and embraced Loki.

At first Loki tensed, trying to push the figure away, when the figure spoke, “brother, I am so sorry.”Loki knew that voice,  _ Thor _ . Loki looked up, trying to discern if he was real or fake. He only shook his head, “I am here brother.”

Loki took a shuddering breath, trying- and failing to keep his voice even. “You’re- you’re alive?” He nodded. Loki embraced him back, silent tears falling down both their faces.

When they pulled apart, Loki quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. Thor wiped his face on the back of his arm, a smile slowing forming on his face. “Do you want to defeat Malekith?” Loki smiled, a mischievous glint in his eye, “of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So long chapter and to this date this is the longest chapter i've ever written.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the Kudos and comments!  
And you can find out updates for the story on my Tumblr, @wishwasgetoutamehswamp

Loki stared at Thor, oh how Thor would ridicule him, Loki had cried for him.  _ Pathetic _ ,  **his** voice swam itself into his subconscious,  _ little J _ _ ötunn _ ,  _ you thought you could rule _ ?  _ Not even your biological father wanted you _ \-  _ Don’t go there _ .  _ Don’t go there _ .  _ Don’t go there _ .  _ Don’t go there _ -

“Loki, are you hale?” 

He shook his head, “Of course!” He faked genuine, making Thor even more worried. He shook his head again, “I’m… fine.” He managed, trying his best to sound fine, but obviously that didn’t work as Thor looked unconvinced,  _ can’t that oaf leave me alone _ ! “We have more important things to deal with, Thor.” He gestured to Malekith, “Than my health problems.” Thor only nodded, walking over to place  Mjölnir on Malekith’s body, he hesitated before placing Mjölnir on Malekith’s chest.

“Loki, can you make Malekith unconscious?” He nodded,  _ of course I can do something as simple as that _ . He pulled his seðir- grimacing at how low it had become- and put an unconsciousness spell on Malekith.

“There done, now what?” 

Thor smiled, “We extract the Aether.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “Yes Thor, amazing idea, truly I could  _ never _ have thought of something so brilliant, but  _ how _ do we do that?”

Thor’s smile never faltered as he said, “You can remove the Aether.”

“But of course, let me do a 5,000 year old spell that I have know idea what is.”

Thor frowned, “You… you don’t know the spell?”

Loki rolled his eyes, “You think Odin would let Asgard keep a book written by Dark Elves?”

Thor shook his head, “I suppose not.”

_But you do know a spell_, **his** voice hissed, _you spent time with the mind stone_, _you know how to enter people’s minds and let them relieve their worst memories as it was done to you_\- **_Not_**. **_Going_**. **_There_**. “Actually Thor,” He hesitated, “I can do something.” 

Thor brightened, “Of course, go ahead.” Loki nodded, he sat himself next to Malekith, his knees almost touched Malekith’s arm. He pulled up his sleeves, making sure they wouldn’t get in the way. He extended his hand, his palm barely above Malekith’s forehead. Loki thought of what he wanted, of what memory he needs, and brushed his fingers across Malekith’s forehead.

Loki jolted, before he could pull his arm away he got sucked into the memory.

* * *

_ Malekith traveled across the barren land, no grass in sight. In had been like this for a few years, give or take. All because of the damned Asgardians, thinking, ‘yes this’ll put them in their place.’ Malekith laughed, lets see who gets put in their place now. _

_ Finally, Malekith reached the temple. The temple itself was the only thing left enact after the Asgardians attacked, the Asgardians left the temple alone because  _ ** _they_ ** _ built the temple. A sign of mockery, Malekith grit his teeth and continued up the temple’s stairs.  _

_ He left himself into the temple, it was bustling- a common sight now, after so many lost their homes. Malekith pushed his way through, not afraid to elbow someone if needed, he was saving them, they can get elbowed a few times. _

_ Malekith knew something the Asgardians didn’t, they might have built the temple, but they are blind to its secrets. Behind a bookcase there was a door, which led to underground tunnels. The Elves built the tunnels themselves, it was very long ago, so old in fact that most of the common people have no idea it exists. But Malekith does, because he is no commoner, no, he is the leader of the army, the commander. He knew things that would send chills down even a Jötunn’s spine.  _

_ He finally reached the bookcase, he let his hand drift over the titles, not paying any mind to what they were called. There, the book he was looking for, Malekith pulled the book out of its place. He flipped through t _ _ he pages finally finding a page full of numbers, he tapped the code,  _ ***** _ einn-tveir-átta-fimm-fimm-fjórir. _

_ The bookcase slid apart, revealing a torch-lit tunnel. Malekith snapped the book shut, placing it back where it belonged before slipping into the tunnel. He grabbed a torch and began his travels, he traversed the tunnels for some time, him the dirt floor and the stone walls, before he found a door. The door was old, older than Malekith, but the rune carved unto the door was new, as it had not collected as much dust. Malekith read the rune, ‘hættu,’ it was an old rune, but Malekith could translate it easily- (He had gone over some of the older runes before coming here)- it said ‘danger.’ _

_ Malekith snorted,  _ ** _danger_ ** _ ? What was there to face? A book monster? Malekith pushed open the door with ease, see no danger. The room he walked into was covered- wall to floor- with books, Malekith sighed, it would take much longer to look for the book when there are so many. Malekith stalked along the columns, scanning each row of books for the one he needed.  _

_ For what seemed like forever he searched, row after row, column after column, until he found the book. The book was titled  _ _ Æðinn _ _ \- (Very creative, Malekith thought dryly)- or  _ _ The Aether _ _ . Malekith skimmed through the book, he only needed one part, how to extract it. Flipping through the pages was of no-use, so Malekith started at the beginning, reading each passage very carefully. _

_ Malekith finally found the passage that had any use to him, the extraction. He read it, again, and again, he wanted- no needed it to be perfect. _ “****** _ Losaðu þig frá fangi þínum, þú myrkur, til að koma óreiðu til alheimsins, ég fórna mér sem skipi, þú myrkur, til þess að þú valdir óreiðu.” He mumbled again and again trying to perfect it, reading old runes may be easy, saying them, not-so much. _

_ Malekith thought it to be perfect, he knew the words and could say them, he could finally show the Asgardians their place. Snapping the book shut Malekith strode out of the tunnels, torch in hand.  _

_ After some wrong turns Malekith found the exit, placing the torch back onto its holder he skimmed his fingers over the stone. He found an unnatural bump, the door. Malekith pushed with all his strength, until he heard a crack, and the door slid open. He stepped out carefully- checking to make sure no-one caught him- when he saw that everyone had gone to sleep or left he tiptoed himself out of the doorway. As soon as he was out the door slid closed again, taking one last look at the door Malekith left. _

* * *

The memory ended, leaving Loki to stare at his unconscious enemy.

“What did you do?” 

Loki turned around to look at Thor, “I looked through his memories.”  
Thor looked shocked, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“It’s a new skill, but back to the matter at hand- I found out how to extract the Aether.”

Thor nodded, “Can you do it?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Thor nodded again. 

Loki stood, placing each palm in front of him, and started to mutter the enchantment to release the Aether. “ Losaðu þig frá fangi þínum, þú myrkur, til að koma óreiðu til alheimsins, ég fórna mér sem skipi, þú myrkur, til þess að þú valdir óreiðu.”

The Aether slowly poured itself out of Malekith’s body, leaving it floating in the air. Soon all of the Aether was extracted, “You did it!” Thor cheered.

A solemn look crossed Loki’s face, “No, I haven’t finished.” 

“What do you mean?” Thor’s face turned grim.

Loki only sighed, bringing the Aether closer to him.

“Loki,” Thor warned, “If I think you’re going to do what I believe…” 

Loki shook his head, “There is no other way.”

Thor grasped at straws, “Yes! There is another way! We just… we just…”

Loki shook his head again, “I’m sorry.” 

“NO!” 

* * *

“NO!” Thor roared as the Aether sank itself into Loki’s arm. He rushed over to Loki, grabbing him before he fell,  _ oh why does Loki think he could everything _ . 

Thor looked at Loki’s pale face,  _ he’s going to die _ . No, Thor can’t let his brother die, not when Loki had just lost him.

Thor tightened his grip on Loki, and held him closer. He pulled Mjölnir off Malekith’s chest- (Not before killing him of course)- and swung Mjölnir round and round, allowing him to fly. Mjölnir ripped Thor off the ground, flying him across the body filled battlefield. As Thor flew his thoughts turned to Jane-  _ oh Norns _ ,  _ Jane _ \- he couldn’t be with Jane, no, Jane was a mortal and he a god. Jane deserved to have someone grow old with her, and Thor couldn’t do that.

Thor landed with a sigh, turning to face his mortal friends. “My friends, I am alive.”

* * *

Jane’s heart stopped-  _ not literally, of course _ \- it was… it was THOR! Thor was alive!

“Darcy, Erik, Ian! Look!” She pointed to Thor flying figure.

“Jane is that…” Erik trailed off, a look of confusion etched on his face.

Jane nodded, “Yes! Yes! It’s Thor!”

Ian tilted his head in confusion, “But I thought Thor was dead?”

Darcy rolled her eyes, “Well he’s not now.” She inclined her head toward Thor- who had now landed- “Look.” 

Jane spun on her heel. “Thor.” She gasped. 

Thor looked battle worn, blood covering his face, dark shadows under his eyes. Thor also held a bundle of something- or  _ someone _ \- in his arms. He smiled grimly, “My friends, I am alive.”

Jane ran up to Thor, hugging him around his neck. “Thor! You’re alive!” 

Thor nodded, “Aye, but I cannot stay long, I must get Loki help.”

“Loki? Wait… Where’s Loki?” Jane unclasped her arms from around Thor’s neck, “Where’s Loki?”

Thor looked down to the bundle in his arms. “I am holding Loki.”

Jane made an O shape with her mouth, “Oh, yeah I was wondering what or  _ who _ that was.”

Thor shifted uncomfortably, “Jane, I must go to my Avenger friends, I might not be back soon.”

Jane nodded, “Yeah, okay.”

Thor looked at all of them, “I will be back, my friends, but first I must make sure Loki lives.”

They nodded. 

Thor stepped back, “Goodbye, my friends.”

“Bye Thor.” Ian said uncomfortably.

Darcy waved, “Bye!” And Erik only nodded.

Janed looked at Thor, “Well um… Bye.”

Thor nodded, a grim smile on his face, and swung Mjölnir round, finally taking off into the sky.

* * *

Tony was having not-so-maybe-ok-day. First he had a meeting with Fury (The old pirate  _ still _ didn’t have any sense of humor) then, he had to repair his vents after one of Clint’s arrow’s exploding. Not a very good day indeed. Still if Tony didn’t invite them to live in the tower he wouldn’t have to deal with them.

Tony was tinkering with a new pair of hearing aids for Clint when he heard Thor’s tell-tale clash of thunder. He stood grabbing his drink (He needed it after the long day he had) and walked out of his lab. 

He stumbled a little when he walked into the elevator (Okaaay, maybe he drank a little _ too _ much) “Jarvis, take me to the penthouse.”

“Right away, sir.” His A.I. answered. Man, he loved Jarvis. 

Tony tapped his fingers on the glass, wondering  _ why _ Thor would come. Of course, there was the attack in Greenwich, which ended right when Fury was about to send them there. He took a swig of his scotch, humming as he made his way up to the penthouse. 

The elevator dinged to signal that they reached their destination. Tony smiled, after the Battle of New York (As the media have taken to calling it) he reworked everything in the elevator. Firstly he made it faster, then he fixed the security on it. 

Tony stepped out of the elevator, taking a look around the penthouse, “Hmm, it seems Point Break isn’t here yet.” Though he regrets saying those words as Thor crashed through the window.

“Come on man, I just fixed those!” Tony huffed.

“I am sorry, Man of Iron, it is just… I require aid.”

“Sure, with what…” He trailed off looking at the bundle in Thor’s arm. Tony knew who Thor could be carrying, he could identify him any day. (As he had recently made an appearance in Tony’s nightmares) 

“Thor, what the hell.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the code and the Aether summoning I used Icelandic bc that was the closest I could get to Old Norse.  
Translations:  
*einn-tveir-átta-fimm-fimm-fjórir = one-two-eight-five-five-four  
**Losaðu þig frá fangi þínum, þú myrkur, til að koma óreiðu til alheimsins, ég fórna mér sem skipi, þú myrkur, til þess að þú valdir óreiðu = Free thyself from thy entrapment, O dark one, to bring chaos to the Universe, I sacrifice myself as a vessel, O dark one, for thou to cause chaos.  
I used Google translate, so if it doesn't translate correctly just tell me the correct translation and I'll fix it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I know I said January or February but I couldn't help myself. Not sure when the next update may be, but expect it sometime before the end of February.   
Thank you all of the comments and Kudos! <3  
(Self plug) Follow my tumblr for updates and other stuff, @wishwashgetoutamehswamp.  
Now, unto the chapter!

Thor sighed, “Friend Stark, he is dying.”

Stark waltzed over to his bar and poured himself a drink, “And that’s my problem how?”

“I cannot bring him to Asgard, nor use the Bifrost, and you are the only person on Midgard who could help him.”

Stark raised a hand to his heart, “ _ Really _ ? Wow, I  _ can _ ’ _ t believe _ I’m the only person on the  _ entire planet _ that a space god would go to for help.” His voice dripped with sarcasm that reminded Thor of Loki and his gut clenched uncomfortably.

He shook his head, “It is not a time for jokes, my brother has let himself become a host for an Infinity Stone.”

“Okaaay, what’s an ‘infinity stone?’”

Thor shifted from foot to foot, an uneasy grimace gracing his face, “I will explain this all in do time,  _ after _ my brother gets help.”

Stark put his hands up in surrender, “Fine, fine. J, bring us to the medical wing.”

“Right away, Sir.” The metallic voice called ‘J’ said.

Stark sauntered over to the elevator, making a ‘follow me’ gesture, and Thor followed. He squeezed in next to Tony, making sure not to hit Loki’s head on anything. The elevator door closed and Tony instantly tensed. 

“What is it Tony?” Thor asked.

Tony shook his head, “nothing.”

Thor only nodded, his thoughts drifting back to Loki.  _ Oh Loki _ …

“Here.” 

Thor’s gaze snapped back to Tony, holding Loki closer to his chest. Tony glanced back at him before strolling out of the elevator. Thor followed Tony out of the elevator and into the healing room.

The healing room was bare at most, a window encompassing the wall right across from him, the other three walls were white- as well as the floor. There were 3 beds all equally spaced apart, a blue curtain separating them from each other.

Tony walked over to the first bed pulling the curtain back, he inclines his head towards the bed. “You can place Rock of Ages here.”

Thor only nods, walking over to the bed. Tony edges away from the bed, instead going to stand next to long metal pole with a clear bag attached to the top of it. Thor sat Loki onto the bed gently, moving the hair out of his pale-  _ too pale _ \- face. He plops himself on the chair next to Loki, leaving his hand to rest on Loki’s. 

Tony rolls the metal pole over, holding a clear tube- which seems to be attached to the bag- in his other hand. “Can you move over.”

Thor only raises an eyebrow.

Tony sighs, raising the clear tube. “I need to insert an I-V.”

“A what?”

“An I-V is a device that you insert into someone’s veins to give them fluids.”

His hand clenches around Loki’s, “and what you do want to insert in him?”

“Water.”

“Why?”  
Tony rolls his eyes, “have you _seen_ him? Just looking at him makes me want to drink a whole bottle of water. You know what, J, ask Bruce to come down to the medical wing and to bring a water.”

Thor’s eyes widened, “Friend Banner would surely turn into Hulk the second he saw my brother, correct?”

Tony looked thoughtful before answering, “We’ve been… working on it, but I think I can talk him down.”

Thor nodded, taking the clear tube from Tony. He turned to Loki ignoring Tony’s protests, brandishing a dagger he kept in his belt he cut a line big enough to fit the IV. He inserted the IV into Loki’s wrist, tearing a piece of blanket off to wrap around Loki wrist.

“Hey!” Tony snatched the piece of cloth out of Thor’s hand, “I have something you can use to  _ actually  _ keep the I-V in place.”

Thor only nodded again, placing Mjölnir onto the floor next to him. Tony walked over to one of the cabinets that lined the floor, he crouched down opening the cabinet door, and pulled out some sort of small box. He walked back over to Thor, opening the box as he went. 

Thor stared at Tony as he wrapped the brown cloth over Loki’s IV, using the dagger Thor left on the bed to cut the unneeded part off. Tony finished wrapping the cloth when the elevator dinged. 

“Tony what did you need me for…” Banner trailed off as he saw Thor, raising an eyebrow at him.

Tony spun on his heel using his body to block Loki face from Banner’s view. “Hey Brucie, um, don’t get mad but we have a guest.”

Banner only looked perplexed but didn’t say anything.

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, “okay, like I said before; don’t get mad.” He moved out of the way, revealing Loki’s face. 

Banner made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth, his ears tingeing green. “What, you… you thought it was a good idea to bring LOKI into the tower?!” He asked on the edge of hysterical.

Tony raised his hands in surrender, “hey, it wasn’t my idea. Big Bro over here needed a place to put Little Bro, and I  _ really _ didn’t want to get pummeled to death by an angry thunder god.”

Banner sighed, rubbing his head, the tinge of green fading a little. 

Thor grimaced, “I am sorry, this was the only place that I could think of that would help Loki.”

Banner nodded, the green fading. “What happened.”

Thor puffed out a breath, “It is a long story-”

Tony cut him off, “we have time.” He pulled up two chairs, sitting on one of them. Banner glanced at the other chair before sitting on it, nodding at Tony’s words.

Thor nodded, “okay I suppose I should start at when I found Jane on Midgard…”

* * *

“We are NOT keeping an ex-super villain in the tower!” 

Tony sighed- they had been arguing about this for an hour now- “Look Clint, it’s not that simple, Loki has an Infinity Stone inside of him and there’s some crazy guy obsessed with killing  _ half the Universe _ and is going to use the Infinity Stones  _ to do that _ so we have to get the one out of Loki so we can destroy it. After that, he’s gone.”

Clint huffed, “I still don’t like this.”

“It’s not up to us.”

He pursed his lips, “fine, but I  _ will not _ have to talk to him  _ or  _ babysit him.”

Steve nodded, “seems fair.”

Clint only nodded in response.

Tony clapped his hands, “Brucie, me and you need to work on something to get the Infinity Stone out of Loki.”

Bruce nodded, following Tony out of the meeting room.

Tony turned towards him, “so, how are we-”

“I’m sorry sir,” J cut him off, “but Loki has woken up.”

Tony’s eyes widened, “oh- J bring us down to the medical wing.”

“Will do sir.”

Tony rushed to the elevator, Bruce not far behind him. 

“Take us there, J.”

* * *

Loki didn’t know where he was, through it felt familiar. He looked around the barren landscape, memories tugging at the edge of his consciousness. Turning around he saw Thor, dead. The memories came flooding back, causing him to stumble. 

“This was not the way this was supposed to happen.” 

He whipped around towards the voice, dagger materializing in his hand. His eyes narrowed when he saw no one, “show yourself.”

It laughed, “you are just like your brother.”

His hand clenched around his dagger, “I don’t like to be compared to my brother.”

It laughed again, “I know.”

“What do you want?”

“If you want to defeat Thanos, you have to trust the Avengers.”

Loki’s eyes widened, “what!? How do you know about Him!?”

“I know all the Universe’s inhabitants.”

“How?”

“You may know me as The Norns.”

“‘The Norns’?” He repeated, confused.

“From your tales, yes.”

“But, but…” He stuttered, “The Norns aren’t real.”

“They are, and they are not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I would explain this all, perhaps, but it is not the time.”

“What do you mean it’s not the time?”

“The spell is wearing off, remember: trust the Avengers.”

“What-”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
So today we got Loki POV, Thor POV, and Steve POV, in that order.  
Thank you all for the comments and Kudos, it makes me happy that people are enjoying this crazy idea I wrote down once.  
And now unto the chapter!

His eyes felt heavy, he wanted to continue to sleep, but something at the back of his mind kept nagging at him to get up. He groaned and rolled over onto his side, bringing the blankets up to cover his head.  _ Blankets _ ? 

He shot up with a gasp, all the memories of the past hour rushing back. 

“Loki, you must lay back down.” 

He ignored the voice instead he swung his legs over the bed and pushed himself off. He swayed for a moment, grabbing onto the metal headboard. A hand on his shoulder made him jump.

“It’s alright brother, it is just me.” Thor raised his other hand in a symbol of peace. 

“Where am I?”

Thor took his hand off Loki’s shoulder, wringing his fingers. “We are at Stark’s home, and I had to tell him and Banner about what happened to convince them to allow you to stay.” He glanced at Loki uncertainty. 

“Like what?” 

“Malekith’s attack, my… death, and… ” Thor grimaced, playing with his fingers.

“ _ What _ ?” 

“When I… when I died, I spoke to someone.”

Loki raised his eyebrow, “who may that be?”

“They proclaimed themselves to be the Norns, and they… and they told me that the Mad Titan had forced you into attacking Midgard.”

Loki felt his eyes widened, “pardon?” 

Thor shifted his weight, “the Norns they told me that the Mad Titan forced you into attacking Midgard.”

“And- and you what? Believe them?”

“Yes.”

He gripped the metal headboard harder and he felt the metal bend under the pressure. 

“Loki-”

“No Thor, you had  _ no right _ !” The metal bar that was supposed to serve as a headboard snapped in two, “You didn’t even deserve to  _ know _ ! You never even suspected- you never  _ even  _ guessed! That maybe- maybe I wasn’t acting of my own violation! And you thought it was a good idea to tell people that have only known me as the villian who attacked their realm! When you didn’t even deserve to know!” 

He took a deep breath, releasing the broken metal bar from his grip.

“Loki, I-” Thor got cut off from what he was saying by a ding from the elevator. Loki’s head snapped towards the elevator, where Stark and Banner walked out. 

Stark raised both his hands, stopping a few feet away from him Banner not far behind. “Can you guys  _ not _ go full Norse deity in my tower, that would be great.”

Before Loki could say anything Thor cut him off, “Sure friend Stark.” 

“Great!” Stark clapped his hands smiling, “so how’s our would-be-conquer?”  
Thor’s eyes widened, shaking his head furiously at Stark. Loki only smiled, “I am fine Stark.” 

“Good, great. So um, do you know how to get the Aether out of yourself?”

“Of course, but I would need something to put the Aether in, as it would be _terrible_ if one you mortals were to carry the Aether.”  
Stark’s smile faltered, “okay, that doesn’t sound vaguely threatening.”

Banner put his hand on Stark’s shoulder, whispering something in his ear. Stark shook his head and whispered something back. From what Loki could tell they were having an argument, though he didn’t understand why they whispered, he could hear them anyway.

Their argument persisted for a few minutes after that, and Loki tried to tune them out, he did not need to listen to their squabbles. So he turned his gaze back to Thor, who looked desperate to talk to him, but he did not want to talk to him. No, Thor didn’t deserve to even know what had transpired between himself and  **Him** . He took a deep breath, pushing the anger down, what he did not need right now was to make the Avengers think of him as the enemy, but if he had to stay in this room that reminded him too much of his time in his cell he would surely go mad.

Stark clapped his hands again, snapping Loki out of musing, “So Reindeer Games let's get to the lab, and get that Aether outta you.”

Loki nodded, relieved that he would finally get to leave Thor and this room and get a much needed distraction, he followed Stark and Banner to the metal doors. The metal doors slide open revealing a small metal box. It was very crude, but he supposed it let them travel between floors. He stepped inside, Stark and Banner not far behind. Stark clicked a button on the wall, which lit up. Loki glanced once more at Thor, who seemed at a loss for what to say. He averted his eyes from Thor, he did want to see Thor’s pitying stare anymore. The metal doors gratefully slid closed, and lurched. He gripped the metal bar on the wall of the box at the unexpected lurch, though he quickly let it go, he did not want to seem weak in front of the Midgardians. The box started to travel downwards and Loki’s gut clenched uncomfortably at the feeling of falling. 

Loki was grateful when the box finally stopped, and the metal doors slid open again. He stepped out of the box in a haste, anxious to get out. He hoped the Midgardians did not realize his hatred of falling. They did not, or perhaps did not bring it up, as Stark went up to the wall that Loki did not realize was so close to him. Loki stared at Stark in confusion as he put his hand up to the wall.

“Good evening Sir, how are you?” Loki jumped, dagger materializing in his hand. Banner’s eyes widened staring at the dagger but Stark didn’t notice anything. 

“That's just Jarvis, don’t worry about him.” Stark said, waving his hand.

“What is a ‘Jarvis’?” Loki asked.

“He’s an AI. He runs the whole tower, kinda like a butler.”

“Thank you sir.” ‘Jarvis’ said drily.

“Hey, I don’t remeber teaching you sarcasm.”

“You did not, sir, I learned it myself.”

Stark smiled, “Jarvis is the smartest AI around, if you need anything ask him.”

Loki nodded, the dagger disappearing from his hand.

Stark took his hand off the wall and it began to retract into the ceiling. Loki raised his eyebrow as behind the wall there was an enormous room. Most of the machinery inside the room he did not recognise, though it did look like a crude attempt at a blacksmithery.

Stark walked a few paces into the room before turning around facing Loki and Banner, he spread his arms out wide and smiled, “mi casa, es su casa.”

“Why did you just say, ‘my house is your house’ in Spanish?” Loki asked, looking around his ‘casa’.

Stark stared open mouthed at him, “how do you know Spanish, let alone know what Spanish is?”

“Each child on Asgard is given the ability All-Speak, it lets you understand and speak every language in the universe. And to answer your second question a decade or two ago I had read a book about Midgardian languages.”

Stark’s mouth closed, “that sounds useful.”  
Loki shrugged with one shoulder, “it comes in handy.”

Stark hmmed in response, going to stand in front of some sort of control panel. Stark clapped his hands and a giant hologram appeared in front of him. 

“Ready to get the Aether out?” 

* * *

Thor watched as his brother entered the elevator. He felt guilty. Did he really not deserve to know Loki was under duress? He hadn’t noticed anything on Midgard, or after that. Nor had he even visited Loki when he was in his cell. Perhaps Loki was right, he didn’t deserve to know, and he hadn’t any right to tell Stark and Banner, who had most likely told the others.

He sighed watching the elevator’s doors slide closed. Now that Loki was out of the healing room there was really no point for him to stay. He glanced at the wall to the right of him, there was a staircase he could take or he could wait for the elevator to come back up.

He chose the former. 

* * *

  
  


Steve was doodling on his sketchpad. He had been doing that a lot recently, he supposed it could be a coping mechanism, as Clint had said once, since he had just appeared 70 years in the future and fought a so called God and his alien army.

Clint was sitting across from him on the couch, he was still very unhappy about the tower’s newest resident. Natasha had tried to improve his mood by having a sparring session, which she had purposely lost, but that didn’t help, so Steve had taken it upon himself to watch whatever movie Clint wanted with him.

The movie had ended over two hours ago, but Clint was still in no better mood. So Steve had started to draw Clint in his sketchpad, hoping to cheer him up.

A door a few feet away swung open, taking Steve out of his musings. He glanced at the open door and who walked out of it.

“Hey Thor, glad you're back!” Steve smiled from his seat, he had missed Thor. 

“Yeah glad you're back.” Clint said bitterly. Steve shot him a glare, from what Tony told them Thor wasn’t having the best day. 

Thor didn’t notice the bitterness in Clint's voice, or maybe he ignored it, when he said, “it is good to be back. I had missed you my friends.”

“I missed you too Thor.” Steve said. “Would you like anything to eat?” He added in a bit of an afterthought, remembering how much Thor ate.

Thor nodded, grinning, “Aye, I am rather famished.”

“Great, I was just about to make dinner.” He dropped his sketchpad on the coffee table, rather hungry himself. He turned around to Clint, who was staring at the television, “want anything to eat.”

“Pizza would be great.” He said not taking his eyes off the television.

“Sure.” Steve nodded, heading towards the elevator, Thor right behind him.

Once he and Thor were both in the elevator he clicked the button that would bring him to the kitchen. The doors slid closed and he turned to Thor, “what would you want to eat?”

Thor looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, “I will have pizza as well.”

“Okay I’m going to have to order pizza if everyone wants some. Actually, Jarvis could you ask what Natasha, Tony, and Bruce wanted from the pizza place down the street, and order it please”  
“Do not forget my brother.” Thor added.

Steve nodded, “him too.”

The elevator doors slide open, revealing a very modern kitchen. Steve clicked another button, this one would lead him to the ground floor now that he had to pick up the pizza. 

Thor’s eyebrows furrowed, “why are we leaving the kitchen?”

“Someone is going to bring the pizza here and we have to get it.”

“Why would we have to get it, if it was being brought to us?”

“Tony doesn’t like random people using his elevator.”

“Ah,” Thor nodded.

Once again the elevator’s doors slide open, greeting them to a very comfy looking lounge.

Steve gestured to the couches and chairs, “make yourself comfortable, they’re going to be awhile.”

Thor nodded again taking one of the chairs for his own, he placed  Mjölnir- which Steve didn’t notice before- beside him. Steve took the chair across from him, wishing he had brought his sketchpad. 

They sat there for awhile, dancing around the topic of Loki’s arrival. Finally Thor sighed, “tell me, friend Steve, do you believe that Loki was under duress during the attack on New York?”

Steve pursed his lips, “I haven’t know Loki for along time, so I may not be the best person to talk to but after watching the footage of his first arrival on Earth he didn’t seem to be in the best shape, and after seeing the Hulk barely leaving marks on Loki I think he was maybe not trying to kill us, I mean he put the dull end of his spear to my head in Germany when he could have just stabbed by neck right then.”

Thor seemed to take this under consideration. 

They sat in silence afterwards, it only being broken by the ringing of the doorbell.

“That must be the pizza.” Steve said, standing up, “do you want to get it with me?” He asked.

“Sure.”

It took them a few moments to get the pizza, as the delivery kid was certainly flustered. (Steve made sure to tip a little extra.) Thor held most of the pizzas, as Steve was certain he’d drop them. He clicked the up button on the elevator and walked in, Thor on his heels. Clicking the floor he wanted to go on the turned to Jarvis (Well, more like looked up at the ceiling.) “Can you tell the others the pizza is here?”  
“Already doing so Captain Rogers.”

“Thank you Jarvis.”

He puffed out an anxious breath, Clint and Loki in the same room will not work out well.


	8. Not an Update

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry to say but I'm just not happy with the way this story is coming along, so I've decided to re-write it completely. I plan to post chapter 1 of the new story about mid-November, so about a month. Also, I will update this story again to update you all when the new story is posted if you want to read that. See you then! 


	9. NEW VERSION!!!

I finally posted the first chapter of the new version of this story!

[New Version](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27763018/chapters/67961254)

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update at least twice a month.


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